Can opener



June 16, 1953 F. G. SEEYMULLER CAN OPENER Filed April 24, 1952 y 'I INVENTOR BY 4, :1" ATTORNEY v can opener whi'ch name Patented June 16, 1953 scraps neiitly aft to the top of a can or 'container to form a structure therewith, and after use it can bdis- A carded with th e opened can:

Thecan opener hasv pivot connections can and is providedat its en s points, whereby when t-ii'e' can open in one direction on its pvots a pourin ing is formed in the top oif'theoan a vent opening can be "forine integral lever portion onrits, withthebody portionofthe'ca M A further object of the invention is to form the can opener. from sheet material by a stain ing operation with maximum economy in manufacture, and with an integral lever like portion flexibly connected with the body portion of :the opener for causing the turning of one of the piercing points on the body portion to penetrate the can top.

With the foregoing and other objects in view as will hereinafter clearly appear, my invention ocmprehends a novel can opener fixed to the top or end of a can or container in such a manner as to form a pivotal connection on which the 1 opener is turned to form a pouring opening and if desired a vent opening in a top or end of a ,y

or H I v M ysbot iii-shot w di fi, solder r rivets or "in *otherprbper iiianner tbprovidepivot points for the turning movement of the can opener as shown at 5. To facilitate such operation, slits '6 are preferably provided.

The larger point 2 is for forming the pouring pening, and the smaller point 3 is for forming he vent opening.

Near the end carrying the piercing point 3 for he vent opening of the can, the body portion of 5 the opener is slit to form a lever like portion 1 he free end of which is bent upwardly to facilitate grasping it and the connection 8 with the body portion forms a hinge for turning movement of the lever I when the piercing point 3 is to be used to form avent opening in the can. The body portion may be bent upwardly as at 9 'I have shown in the accompanying drawings.

can or container. ;f, to facilitate the operator in raising the opener For the purpose of illustrating the invention, 3mm m t e Pouring p T e can or container is indicated at l0 and is of any convenpreferred embodiments of it which I have found .in practice to give satisfactory and reliable re- It is, however, to be understood that suits. changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the appended claims. 3

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a can andi'ny novel opener in pivoted connection with the. can.

FigureZ is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1,

showing more particularly the operation of the piercing points.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a can and opener, showing more particularly the manner in which the lever has a hinge connection with the body portion of the opener.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a can and the, opener.

Figures is a top plan view of amodified form in which the lever for the vent opening is I u e 8 s a p an ew o a other embodiment.

tional design or formation.

In some cases the means for forming the vent opening may be dispensed with as shown in "figures 5 and 6. The body portion has at one {end a piercing point H and side flanges l2 the same as in the other figures of the drawings which re fined. to the can top to form pivots for turning movement of the opener. The end opposite a to the piercing, point is slightly bent upwardly as at lltofa'cilitate the taking hold of the opener.

In the. operation, the opener is raised upwardly on its'pivots and the lever 1 turned to form the ent opening. and then further raised to form the uring' opening. The air vent lever can be rpken 01! or. bent to. its original position so that when the'opener is moved to a horizontal posion with the can top the vent opening and also he pouring opening are covered. The opener can e separated from its flanges as in Figure '7, if esired.

In order to use lighter gauge metal or other heet material, the body portion is deformed to provide reinforcing grooves or ridges of any deoo 'slred character.

The body portion of the can opener may be pivotally mounted on top of the can in a number of different ways, and in Figure 8, I have shown the body portion in rear of the piercing point for forming the pouring opening in the can as provided with an aperture ll to receive a pivot rod 15, the ends of which are preferably somewhat flattened and permanently fixed to the body portion of the can by welding or soldering.

In all 'of'the embodiments of nreinvent emas herein shown; the can opener, when pivotally fixed to the can, is within the conventional rim of the can so that it does not interfere in any manner with the stacking of the cans.

When the vent opening is to be made, and piercing point 3 are preferably bent tohringm a s for the piercing point for the pouring opening, the piercing point for the vent opening the piercing point at substantially,rightangle to the body portion of the can opener, as shown in I having side edges at one end converging to form Figure 3, and then a downward pressure on the .1-

body portion forces the piercing point into the can to form the vent opening. c v

Having thus described my invention, 1 whja1t.I claim as new and desire to secure by f l.-etters Patent is: ti l 1. The combination with a can topj ofi an opener comprising an elongated; metal str'ip' permanently pivoted to the can top near, pn..end of the strip and having at opposite ends piercing points, and one of said piercing pointshav'ing a hinge connection with the body portion of the strip and having a lever arm formed from the strip to effect its pivotal movement relatively t the body portion of the strip.

2. A can opener, comprising an elongated metal strip having at one end a piercing point for forming a pouring opening in a can, having at its opposite end a piercing point for forming a vent opening in a can, the point for forming the vent opening being bendable at an angle to the body portion, and said body portion having in rear of the point for forming the pouring opening pivot forming means connectible with an end of a can. l 3. Khan opener, comprising an elongated strip a piercing point for a pouring opening in a can, having opposite side vedges at the opposite end converging to form a piercing point for a vent opening in the can, and having pivot forming having a hinge connection with the body portion of the strip, and the strip having a slit extending from the hinge connection and forming alever arm to effect pivotal movement of the vent forming piercing point relatively to the body portion of the strip,

FRANK G. SEEMULLER.

l References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,569,905 schwam Oct. 2, 1951 

